Pandit A Pandit ( sa, पण्डित, paṇḍit; hi, पंडित; also spelled Pundit, pronounced ; abbreviated Pt.) is a man with specialised knowledge or a teacher of any field of knowledge whether it is shashtra (Holy Books) or shastra (Wea ...

Nathrao Neralkar (16 November 1935 – 28 March 2021) was an Indian Hindustani vocal musician and music teacher from the state of

Maharashtra Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a states and union territories of India, state in the western India, western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the List of states and union te ...

. He was conferred with

Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (IPA: Saṅgīta Nāṭaka Akādamī Puraskāra), also known as the Akademi Puraskar, is an award given by the Sangeet Natak Akademi Sangeet Natak Akademi (The National Academy of Music, Dance and Drama in Englis ...

, India's highest award in arts, for the year 2014.

Personal life

Nathrao Neralkar was born on 16 November 1935 in

Nanded Nanded is a city in Maharashtra state, India. It is the tenth largest city in the state and the seventy-ninth most populous city in India. It is the second largest city in Marathwada region. It is the district headquarters of Nanded distric ...

Hyderabad State Hyderabad State () was a princely state located in the south-central Deccan region of India with its capital at the city of Hyderabad. It is now divided into the present-day state of Telangana, the Kalyana-Karnataka region of Karnataka, and t ...

(in present-day

). He had two sons and a daughter.

Hindustani music

Neralkar was a commended vocal artist in

Hindustani classical music Hindustani classical music is the classical music of northern regions of the Indian subcontinent. It may also be called North Indian classical music or, in Hindustani, ''shastriya sangeet'' (). It is played in instruments like the violin, sita ...

. He established a music school "Anant Sangeet Mahavidyalaya". In 1973, he started teaching music at Saraswati Bhuvan College in

Aurangabad Aurangabad ( is a city in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the administrative headquarters of Aurangabad district and is the largest city in the Marathwada region. Located on a hilly upland terrain in the Deccan Traps, Aurangabad is th ...

and eventually became the head of the music department and retired in 1995.

Awards

Neralkar was conferred with

, India's highest award in arts, by the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, c ...

for the year 2014 for his contributions to Hindustani music.

Death

Neralkar died on 28 March 2021 due to

cardiac arrest Cardiac arrest is when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. It is a medical emergency that, without immediate medical intervention, will result in sudden cardiac death within minutes. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and possib ...

in Aurangabad following an illness due to an accident at his house 10 days earlier.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Neralkar, Nathrao 1935 births 2021 deaths Hindustani musicians Musicians from Maharashtra People from Nanded People from Aurangabad, Maharashtra Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Indian music educators